UPDATED with plea: Father arrested for child's murder
He and she were spotted in a Saratoga Springs restaurant.
UPDATED, July 22, 9:33 a.m.: According to a story by Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge at the Post-Star, Luciano Frattolin pleaded not guilty to the charges before him in the death of this daughter. He entered the plea in Ticonderoga Town Court, Essex County, on Monday morning, July 21, according to the story.
Original post, July 21: The father of a girl who was reported missing on Friday was arrested and charged with 2nd degree murder and concealing a human corpse, both felonies, after police said his story as he related it fell apart. The girl’s body was found in the shallow end of a pond in the Town of Ticonderoga. The investigation is continuing.
The girl’s father, Luciano Frattolin, age 45, has been arrested. He faces 15-year-to-life in prison.
He has been estranged from his wife since 2019 who was the primary caregiver of their daughter, Melina Frattolin, age 9. The father and daughter from Montreal were on vacation and visited Connecticut, New York City, and were seen on video in or near a Saratoga Springs restaurant about four hours before Luciano Frattolin called 911, the police said. Shortly before police believe she was killed, she called her mother who told police she sounded fine.
“Initial reports from mister Frattolin of a suspicious white van in the area of the alleged disappearance which proven to be untrue,” New York State Police Major Christopher T. Gilroy, said in a press conference this morning.
“The Warren County Sheriff's Office sent every resource available to…investigate this right at the inception. Same with New York State police. We had us in conjunction with the law enforcement partners. We had aviation drones, canine investigators, uniform troopers, every resource we had to bear, we applied in this investigation,” Gilroy said.
The investigation quickly turned from the Exit 22 rest area where Luciano Frattolin said he stopped with his daughter, went to the woods to urinate and found her missing when he returned.
“I don't want to divulge too much with respect to law enforcement technology or the tools we use, just to say that we focused our search area in Ticonderoga based on inconsistencies in initial account, in his initial account, as well as some technology available to law enforcement,” Gilroy said.
According to a press release from the state police, on Sunday, July 20, a search detail composed of officers from multiple agencies conducted an organized search in Ticonderoga, in an area Frattolin was suspected of having visited. During that search detail at approximately 1:50 p.m., members of the New York State Forest Rangers located Melina deceased in the shallow water of a pond. This was just hours after initializing an Amber Alert that was later discontinued.
The cause of death has not yet been determined. The girl’s body will undergo and autopsy today.
The New York State Police thanked the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, Essex County Sheriff’s Office, Warren County District Attorney, Essex County District Attorney, the Montreal Police Department, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Ticonderoga Police Department, and the FBI, for their assistance in this investigation.
If any member of the public has information regarding the death of Melina Frattolin, I encourage them to contact the New York State Police at (518) 457-6811 or email crimetip@troopers.ny.gov.